These are the Breaks
by ImprovisedKatastrophe
Summary: So this is a story about Hurt!Severide, with our usual dose of Sevasey! What happens when Severide tries to conceal yet another injury?


**Hey there devoted readers! Here is my Hurt!Severide oneshot. I know a lot of people prefer Matt to be the one injured or hurting but Sev's gotta have his chance right? This is based one something I went through a few weeks ago, except on a plane.**

It started out as any other call; sirens blasting as the trucks zoomed to a house fire. Truck scrambled to clear the building of any occupants while Squad moved to vent the house. It was routine; all occupants out alive, the fire quickly controlled, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Then, things changed in an instant, chaos erupting from the smoky interior. Pieces of the staircase began to collapse, debris falling on the unsuspecting firemen.

Coughing in the undercurrent of ash and smoke, Matt stood up, brushing off the debris. "Everybody okay?"

The members of 51 began to call out an affirmative to their lieutenant, each brushing their jackets off. Squad did the same, each helping one another up. House 51 began to file out of the house, Boden's orders coming in loud and clear over the radio. Severide was the last to stand, his helmet lying near his feet.

Casey noticed his friend lagging behind the group and moved closer. "Sev? You okay?"

Kelly nodded, snagging his fallen helmet. "Yeah, I'm good. Board caught me off guard and knocked my helmet off."

Matt looked skeptically at the other lieutenant before following him out of the building.

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For the rest of shift, Severide insisted he was fine; no concussion, no stitches needed, no lasting damage. Much to Matt's dismay, Shay backed up the Squad Lieutenant's story, giving him a clean bill of health, aside from the suggestion to take ibuprofen for any headache he was hiding. The blonde man shook his head, causing the paramedic to laugh.

"What's wrong, Matt? Think I'm not qualified enough to know if Kel's hurt?"

"No," Casey replied, knowing better than to upset the petite woman. "I'm just not convinced he isn't hiding something. I don't know…"

"Oh no…are you claiming you have tingling brother senses too?" Shay laughed, slinging an arm around his shoulders. "Don't worry, Blondie, I'll look after him on the off day and you can watch him next shift!"

Matt returned the side hug, laughing in turn. "Alright, you've got a deal, Shay."

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For the next two shifts, the blonde counterparts did as they'd said, dutifully keeping an eye on the Squad Lieutenant. Though the nagging feeling never quit for Matt, he eventually decided to let it go. Kelly seemed normal, and the older man wouldn't put up with his shadowing for much longer. So Matt ran a hand through his hair and returned to his office to work on paperwork. If Kelly said he was fine then he was fine, and Matt would leave it at that.

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Severide scrubbed a hand over his face, reclining in his usual chair. His blonde friends had been far too sneaky in recent days and it was beginning to concern him. Either one by themselves was dangerous, well more Shay than Matt, but together? They were a force to be reckoned with, or at least concerned by. However, any further concern was put aside as a call rang out; Squad was needed for a possibly car in the water.

Kelly moved on autopilot, throwing on his firefighting garb and grabbing his dive equipment as he ran to the truck. The drive to the scene passed quickly, each squad member mentally preparing for the job at hand. Pulling up to the scene, Kelly jumped out, quickly assessing the accident.

There appeared to be only one car involved, swerved into the guard rail and hanging precariously over the water. The front door of the car was open, no driver in side. A passenger sat in the front seat, unconscious.

"Alright! Let's get a cable on the car, keep it from going in. Somebody get the jaws and get the man out of there. I'm suiting up to go into the water to find the missing driver," Kelly ordered, quickly stripping off his jacket, firepants, and boots.

The squad members scurried to do as they were instructed, Capp and Newhouse moving to secure a cable to the car, hoping to keep it from tumbling after the driver. Severide slipped into his dive suit and tank, moving towards the edge of the road. Clarke followed him, helping him hook into the harness. As he repelled, Kelly searched the surface of the water for the missing driver. As he reached the surface, there was no sign of anyone, so he quickly tugged for extra rope, preparing to dive.

"Ready? I'll tug twice when we're coming up, until then, feed me more rope," Severide instructed.

Seeing Clarke's nod, Kelly took a calming breath before inserting the regulator and submerging. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the darkened water, the lieutenant began to carefully check the immediate area surrounding him. For countless seconds, he saw nothing. _There_ , he realized, spotting the victim, slowly sinking below him.

Kelly moved to descend, diving deeper into the cold water. Just as he reached the submerged driver, a sudden sharp, fiery-white pain drove through his head, stealing his breath. The icepick-like sensation robbed Kelly of his vision, a burst of bubbles emitting from his mouth. Blindly grabbing, he secured a grip around the driver before immediately yanking on the line.

Up on the surface, Clarke was alarmed at the sudden, anxious tugging on the line. Quickly pulling up the slack, he moved closer to the edge, looking for his lieutenant. Kelly broke the surface with an enormous splash, coughing and spluttering.

"What the hell?" Clarke asked, reaching down to help.

"T..Take him, just take him!" Severide managed, anxiously thrusting the unresponsive man towards the other firefighter. The stabbing sensation hadn't stopped, only increasing tenfold as he'd ascended. As soon as Clarke took the man from his grasp, Kelly was moving, ripping his mask off and clinging frantically to his head. He'd never felt such ice cold pain, tearing through his head, like a chisel being thrust sharply into his skull. "God…"

"Severide? Kelly?" Clarke called frantically, handing the driver off to a pair of paramedics. The man below him was acting oddly, grasping his head in a vice-like grip. "Kelly? You with me?"

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Ambulance 61 was just pulling into the bay when a call came in from dispatch. _Firefighter Lieutenant out of House 51 complaining of sharp, cerebral pain. Non-emergency at site of last dispatched car crash, can you respond?_ Shay exchanged glances with Dawson before practically leaping for the radio.

"Ambo 61 is responding," Turning to her partner, she motioned for her to wait before leaping from the cab. Tearing through the House, Shay began yelling. "MATT! CASEY, where are you?!"

Matt heard the yells and dashed out his office, sprinting around a corner, only to run into the blonde searching for him. "Shay?! What the hell?"

The paramedic wasted no time, spinning around and dragging the lieutenant behind her. "We just got a call. Something's wrong with Kelly."

"What?" Matt managed, barely keeping up with the petite woman. Passing his truck team, he managed to snag Hermann as he passed. "I gotta go, something went wrong at the scene. You're in charge if we get a call!"

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After managing to get out of the water, with Clarke's help, Kelly stripped off his dive suit before stumbling to sit on the side of the scene. The stabbing sensation had lessened somewhat, now emanating from his left ear. Clarke had stayed near his lieutenant, placing a comforting hand on the man's shoulder. He managed to get Kelly to explain that it was a sharp, stabbing pain in his head from when he dove. Clarke was immensely relieved when Ambo 61 rolled up, a concerned Matt Casey climbing out of the back.

Matt wasted no time in kneeling next to his surrogate brother, replacing Clarke as the other man moved to inform the paramedics. Gently prying Severide's hands from his head, Matt tried to get through to the man.

"Sev? Talk to me, buddy…." He coaxed, concerned at the tight lines gracing his friend's face.

"Ma…Matty?" Kelly managed, blinking rapidly. "Head, Ear…gonna 'splode…"

"Nothing's going to explode," Shay assured him, moving to kneel on his other side. "We're gonna take good care of you. Just tell us what happened. Clarke said something about diving hurting your head?"

"And ear," Kelly agreed, swallowing tightly. "Like someone was stabbing me, Shay…"

The paramedic raised an eyebrow at her partner before moving to stand. "C'mon, Matt. Help us get the big guy in the bus."

"Alrighty, Big Brother," Matt concedes, standing the other man up carefully. "Let's get you some help."

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Sitting in a waiting room was definitely one of Casey's least favorite things to do. Bouncing his leg nervously, he sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time, eliciting a laugh from the person sitting beside him. Leveling a mock glare at the blonde, Matt raised an eyebrow.

Shay laughed again. "You and Kelly, man. Neither one of you can bother to stay still for more than a few minutes. Sitting in these seats is like asking you to enter a torture chamber."

"Shay," Matt protested. "You saw Kelly, what if something's seriously wrong with him? I knew something was wrong…"

"Yes, Matthew, you were right," she placated, seeing Kelly being led out by a doctor through the door behind Matt.

"Family of Lt. Severide?" the doctor greeted.

Matt immediately stood, moving to stand near his friend. Shay rolled her eyes at the boys' antics. Every time one of them would act like this, it was always the same. "What's the damage, doc? What did he do this time?"

"It appears that Lieutenant Severide managed to fracture the cartilage of his inner ear, well the majority of his ear, actually. As with most fractures, it doesn't hurt as much when not jostled, so could easily go unnoticed. The diving, however, pushed the pressure within his head to such large amounts that the fractures were pushed and shifted numerous times. It's equivalent to grating broken bones together over and over again. We've given him pain meds, as well as a script to get more if he needs it. For the next 4-6 weeks, he should refrain from diving, flying, or ascending rapidly to high elevations."

"I told you! I _told_ you that it was something. You took a 2x4 to the head, Kel," Matt ranted.

"Alright, boys, settle down," Shay scolded. "Thank you, Doc."

With that, she led her two squabbling boys from the ER waiting room and to the waiting car. The three of them had made it through yet another day, relatively unscathed, and that was something to celebrate. She would see to it that Kelly rested and took his meds; that Matt got his mother hen fix in and relaxed. The three of them would bond and recover and live to grace Chicago with their presence yet again. As a family, they'd survive.

 **What did you think? I'm so happy to have all of your support and reviews! Let me know what you think! I know for a fact that what Sev went through, what I put him through, is excruciating! So send him some reviews for comfort?**


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